


Here to Stay

by fuzipenguin



Category: Prospect (2018)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, Found Family, Gen, Injury Recovery, Major Character Injury, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29599125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzipenguin/pseuds/fuzipenguin
Summary: Ezra never expected to open his eyes again. But he has, and now there is more than just his recovery to deal with.
Relationships: Cee & Ezra (Prospect 2018)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 31





	Here to Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another Ezra wakes up in the hospital and he and Cee figure out their relationship and next steps fic :)

Ezra returned to consciousness like honey dripping out of a bottle; slowly and laboriously.

Sound was the first thing to come to him: a low chatter of voices from far away and the closer beeps of machinery. After an indeterminate time, the voices faded. Then it was just a steady, slow blip which almost lulled him back to sleep until a woman somewhere nearby laughed and he was dragged towards awareness.

Once he took those stumbling steps, the sense of smell returned next: the faint odor of flowers, and something strong and astringent which made his nose painfully sting. He reflexively tried to reach up and wipe the odor away, but then another sense came into play: touch. It felt like someone was slowly and methodically shoving molten hot rebar through his stomach while also dipping his entire right arm in boiling acid. There was pain in his chest too, although that was a different sort of agony, more of a raw tightness which made him gasp and cough.

Sight was last.

Ezra’s eyes flew open as he panicked, unable to pull a full breath against the crushing weight sitting on his chest. Tears welled up as a bright light bored directly into his brain, and he immediately squinted, turning his head to the side to try and orient himself. 

Fortunately, even through the tears, he immediately recognized Cee where she was sitting on a cot a few feet away. He watched her jump to her feet in shock and a tiny bit of the panic eased as he took in her clean clothes and bright eyes.

“Ezra! You’re awake! It’s ok, we’re safe, we made it,” she said in a rush as she ran up to the side of his bed. She made a motion as if to touch him but dropped her hands instead, fingers clenching into the blanket by his hip.

“We made it,” Cee repeated. “I’m getting the doctor; don’t go anywhere.”

She darted away again and Ezra’s responding groan was half irritation (he could barely raise a finger, how likely was he going anywhere?!), and half despair at the sight of the girl. The only reason he had let himself fall into the welcome black of unconsciousness was knowing they were out of the Green and safe. The Central freighter had been in their viewport and the last thing his weary eyes had witnessed was a giddy smile spreading across Cee’s face as they broke atmo.

Ezra had succumbed to the pain of his injuries knowing they would dock within minutes. He had assumed it would be too late for him, but that she would be ok. She would be free of him at least, and he had no doubt someone would have looked out for the girl.

Yet here he was, alive somehow. And Cee still at his side.

… why was she still here?

\--

Apparently, a lot had happened since Ezra had passed out in the rock jumper.

There had been two surgeries – an immediate one to repair the damage from the stab wound and another the following day to remove some remaining contaminated tissue at his stump. He’d been on a ventilator for nearly a week, only coming off it that morning. The dust was insidious after all, and even prospectors with fully working filters and no injuries would sometimes come back with a cough. Unfortunately, circumstances had been less than ideal for him in many ways and his lungs were damaged to the point that it was unlikely they would ever heal to full function.

A small price to pay to get off the Green alive, he supposed.

Ezra glanced over at Cee as the doctor droned on about diet and restrictions. She was seated with her knees up, arms hugging them to her chest, and utterly focused on the medical professional standing equidistant between the two of them. She and the doctor had a certain familiarity with one another that Ezra supposed had grown out of Cee sitting by his bedside for nearly two weeks. He doubted that any of this information was new to her, but she acted as if it was of the utmost importance.

“You’ll be weak for quite a while yet,” Dr Amir said, and Ezra turned his attention back to him. “The physical therapy nurses will be working with you daily and of course we’ll be doing breathing treatments every few hours to help your lungs recover.”

“How long will I need to stay, doc?” Ezra questioned, too tired to even attempt calculating what this would cost him. He had savings as well as the aurelac recovered from his latest venture on the Green, but he would be lucky to break even with this amount of intensive medical care.

“Several cycles; at least a week, I would think. You’re quite lucky to be alive, you know. And this young lady here deserves much of your thanks,” Dr Amir said, smiling warmly at Cee. “We did most of the work of course, but without your daughter giving you basic first aid and getting you here, you never would have made it.”

Ezra looked over at Cee in surprise, noting the subtle widening of her eyes as she gazed back at him. 

“Well, my Little Bird is resourceful, that’s for certain,” Ezra rasped, winking at her before smiling up at the doctor. “Thank you, doctor; I truly mean that. And please extend my gratitude to the rest of your team as well. I never expected to open my eyes again; I’ve no doubt you worked miracles.”

“I will relay that sentiment,” Dr Amir said with a small nod. “And now I’ll let you get some rest. I’ll stop back tomorrow with the results of today’s tests. Miss.”

He gracefully nodded at Cee and then left, quietly closing the door behind him. Ezra considered the darkly painted metal for a moment before carefully shifting so he could more comfortably look at Cee. He didn’t say anything, just merely quirked an eyebrow. Cee quickly ducked her head, fidgeting with the cuff of one leg of her scrub pants.

“They assumed,” she muttered. “And I didn’t tell them otherwise. I didn’t think they would have let me stay unless I was immediate family.”

“… and you wanted to stay?” Ezra ventured cautiously.

Cee’s head shot up and her eyes narrowed. “You don’t want me here?”

“Now, I didn’t say that, birdie,” Ezra replied. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I merely thought you would have taken the opportunity to make plans for yourself.”

“I did. I planned on staying to make sure you were ok… staying until we could figure out our next steps,” Cee said, her voice wobbling a little on the ‘we’. “That’s what partners do, right?”

Ezra studied Cee, the way her shoulders practically touched her ears and the fear behind the glare. A war sprung to life behind his eyes, a battle fought between selflessness and selfishness. It was an unfamiliar fight as normally he favored the latter without thought. 

“Cee… the choices you had to ensure your survival were extremely limited down on the Green. Up here… you have far more options open to you. You don’t just have to stick by an old man hanging on to life by a thread,” Ezra said softly. “The same man who contributed heavily to your current situation.”

There was a pause before Cee scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You’re not that old. And besides…” Cee ducked her head again, reaching out to lightly touch the now familiar journal resting on her pillow. “… you made up for it.”

Ezra sighed heavily, accidentally pushing himself into a coughing fit which left him weak and wheezing. He couldn’t meet her worried eyes, so he rolled his head back to the center of his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. “… don’t think I’ll ever make up for it.”

\--

The next few cycles passed in a haze of medications, pain, and frustration. Ezra wasn’t used to sitting still, wasn’t used to having to rest after speaking only a few sentences. And the loss of his arm was difficult enough but the refusal of his lungs to draw proper breath was enraging at times.

Through it all, Cee was always nearby, observing the medical staff performing their duties with sharp, solemn eyes. The nurses were more than happy to indulge the girl’s hesitant questions and while Ezra would have happily remained ignorant about the function of each wire and tube stuck into him as long as they served their purpose, she sucked up the knowledge like a sponge.

When she wasn’t in her unofficial medical training, Cee watched television, wrote in her journal, or talked with Ezra. Their conversations were frequently short however, because Ezra found it difficult to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, especially after a breathing treatment or physical therapy.

At first, Ezra felt badly that Cee had inflicted this pseudo-isolation upon herself. As time passed however, he realized that she was used to it. Apparently, it had only been her and her father for several years and like many Floaters, she had been put to work young, leaving little time for socialization with anyone outside family, much less peers her age.

After the realization that she preferred staying put instead of venturing outside the hospital wing, or even his room, he worried less. In fact, that worry morphed into appreciation as the few times he had awoken and hadn’t seen Cee in the immediate vicinity, he had felt an overwhelming sense of fear for her that he had never experienced for anyone else in all his years.

Even for himself, in fact.

It was ridiculous to think that he could protect her now, but he still felt better when he knew where she was. It was also ridiculous to think that her tiny self could offer him much protection in return, but she’d already had, hadn’t she? She’d saved his life at least twice and _maybe_ he felt safer in his overly sterile room when she was by his side.

Despite his lingering reservations about her presence as his recovery stretched on, he had to admit she looked better every day. The boniness of her wrists and collarbones faded and she started filling out her scrubs. Color returned to her face and her blonde tresses shone with daily cleanings.

Ezra realized that the hints of her personality he had gotten down on the Green were nothing in comparison to what she let show when she truly felt safe. She was much more talkative, very inquisitive if she got the sense that the person she was conversing with was open to questions, and downright sassy when it was just her and Ezra. She also had a wickedly dry sense of humor which had made Ezra laugh until he ended up in a coughing fit more than once.

Ezra’s chest hurt daily, but even as his breathing finally started coming easier, a pervasive ache settled itself deep inside his thoracic cavity, nestled around his heart. He knew it was all Cee’s fault. It took him a while, but eventually he identified the foreign feeling as fondness and affection. If he really tried, he had no doubt he could root it all out.

He just wasn’t sure he wanted to.

\--

As the television program ended, Ezra blinked himself up out of the sleepy haze had had fallen into. He gaze dropped down from the screen to his legs and he snorted in amusement.

“Birdie, you should get up and move over to your own bed,” Ezra commented as he placed the remote at his bedside. When she didn’t say anything, he carefully reached down and tapped her shoulder. A light snore was his only reply and Cee nuzzled into the blanket more firmly, obstinate even in her sleep.

Ezra fell back against his pillows with a sigh. She was young. Her back would forgive her if she slept in a chair, draped over the side of his bed for a few hours. Besides, despite her trying to hide it, he knew that she had been sleeping poorly these last few days. Nightmares were starting to plague her rest and while he hated that, it was a sure sign her body was relaxing out of survival mode.

Turning off the light above his bed, Ezra settled in against the sheets, absently reaching his hand up to massage his opposite shoulder. They were weaning him off the pain meds now that his wounds were healing properly. Understandable and he appreciated the clearer head, but it meant he wasn’t sleeping well either, especially as he kept experiencing phantom pains in his missing arm.

Closing his eyes, Ezra did his best to ignore the odd sensations, and focused instead on the soft sounds of Cee’s breathing, letting it lull him to sleep.

In a way, it was good that he slept more lightly now. It allowed some part of him to recognize when Cee started whimpering an hour or so later, prompting him to wake abruptly.

He blinked up at the dimly lit ceiling for several seconds before lifting his head and peering down the length of his body. Cee was in much the same position as before, her upper body resting on the foot of his bed, face turned away. However, the fingers of her right hand were now twisted into the thin blanket covering his shins, worrying the material over and over.

“Birdie… birdie, wake up,” Ezra called. When she showed no signs of hearing him, he awkwardly shifted his upper body closer and brushed her shoulder with his fingertips. “Birdie, c’mon, child, it’s just a nightmare.”

Cee whined in reply, her distressed whimpers rising in volume. It broke what remained of Ezra’s blackened, shriveled heart. He called her name again, more urgently this time, hating for her to be stuck in whatever hellscape her brain was creating.

“Little Bird… Cee!”

Unable to really grasp Cee’s arm, he jerked his leg, trying to shake her awake. The motion was apparently enough because she shot upwards with a gasp and frantically looked around.

“It’s ok, birdie, you’re ok,” Ezra said softly, wincing a little when she shrank back at the sound of his voice. She stared at him fearfully, going still like a prey animal when he reached his hand out towards her. “Cee, it’s alright. You just had a bad dream.”

“… Ezra?” she whispered after a moment. He watched as recognition flooded her tear-streaked face. “Are we… are we…?”

“We’re on Central, Cee. Off the Green. You’re safe.”

Cee’s lower lip trembled, and she ducked her head, hair swinging forward to hide her face. Yet Ezra could hear sniffles and he watched her wipe hurriedly at her eyes. “Right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…I should…”

She looked pitiful, small, and hunched over into herself. Moving jerkily, she pushed herself to her feet and swayed in place.

“Nothing to be sorry ‘bout, Little Bird,” Ezra said, lightly grabbing her wrist when she started to shuffle away from her chair and presumably back to her own bed. Probably where she would shamefully bury her face and try to hide her tears. Well, Ezra was having none of that anymore. “No, wait.”

Ezra had honestly meant to pull himself to a sitting position using his grip on her arm, but it was too much for her woozy head. She crashed down against his side instead, landing awkwardly on Ezra’s wrist with one knee jammed into his thigh. Fortunately, she was a little slip of a thing and still somehow managed to fit between him and the edge of the bed without falling off.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed, starting to squirm. Her breath hitched and Ezra felt her shaking where they were pressed together.

“Not what I was going for, but it works,” Ezra pronounced, sliding his arm out from under her and draping it over her shoulder. He had a feeling that if he let her flee now, she’d hide in her bed instead of talking to him about her nightmare. “Hey… hey, birdie, stop.”

Cee stilled again, propped up on one elbow and resolutely not looking at him. She shook her head violently and trembled harder. “No, it’s… you’re hurt, and I…”

“I’ve been better,” Ezra admitted. “I’ve also been much worse, which you can attest to. But right now, I’m just fine, so why don’t you stay put and tell me what you were dreaming about to put you in such a tizzy.”

Cee shook her head harder and pulled half-heartedly against Ezra’s arm. “I’m not… we…” her words trailed off into a sob. Ezra stared down at the top of her bent head, worrying his lower lip as Cee shuddered and pressed a hand against her mouth.

“Hey… hey, Little Bird, it’s alright,” Ezra whispered. He slid his hand across Cee’s back to her far shoulder and gently tugged downwards. “You don’t have to talk… just don’t go. C’mere.”

Cee suddenly collapsed in place, curling up against his side and shoving her face into his chest. Even as buried as she was, the sounds of her cries echoed in the room, harsh ugly sobs that wracked her entire body. Alarmed, Ezra rolled slightly so that he could pull her against him more snugly, his hand spanning the length of her back.

He had lamented his missing arm several times in the past week, but never more so than right now. Ezra ached to enfold Cee in a complete embrace, to hide her from the images and thoughts which had plagued her sleep lately. As it was, he held her tightly with the arm he still had and pulled her up his body so he could tuck her head under his chin.

“I got ya, birdie,” Ezra whispered into her hair. “We’re safe… we’re out of the Green for good.”

If anything, Cee started sobbing louder and Ezra had a moment to wonder if maybe he was part of the problem when the door to his room cracked open. The light from the hall spilled in to the room, fully illuminating the way Cee kept trying to burrow closer to Ezra’s person.

Ezra met the concerned gaze of the aging night nurse and shook his head at her inquiring expression. “Nightmare,” Ezra said quietly, pressing his cheek against Cee’s unruly mop of hair.

The nurse nodded and slowly withdrew, gently shutting the door behind her and placing them back into darkness. It wasn’t completely dark, of course. Ezra was still hooked up to a significant number of monitors which shed some light. That was probably why the nurse checked on him to begin with; he had no doubt that his heart was racing even as he did his best to act calm.

Ezra lost track of what he said to Cee over the next few minutes. He just drew on the dredges of his own childhood memories, of seeing parents comforting their children, or siblings soothing their younger brothers or sisters. He didn’t think the words mattered much, not when Cee verged on hysterical. It was the tone that was important, that tone that said ‘I’m here. I’m here, and I’m not leaving you.’

Because Ezra was a killer, but he wasn’t cruel. Not when it concerned Cee. He would do his best to never leave her.

Cee’s sobs eventually, slowly, died down, leaving her a sniffling, limp mess at his side. His scrub top had a large wet patch near the collar, but he didn’t care. He only cared that she was comfortable, that she felt safe.

“It… it was about the Green,” Cee finally said, her voice thick. “All the things that were bad… the way it could have been so much worse.”

“I’m sorry, birdie,” Ezra said mournfully, cupping her nape and pressing his lips against the crown of her head. “I’m sorry for my part in it all.”

Cee shook her head.

“… _he_ gave me to them,” she whispered. “My dad… the Sater…”

Ezra frowned into the darkness, out of sight of Cee. “While I am not the biggest fan of your esteemed father, I do not believe he would have done something so despicable.”

Well… he didn’t think so.

Cee was quiet for a long moment. “… I’m not sure of that, to be honest.”

Ezra sighed and held Cee tighter as she echoed his thoughts out loud. “It was all just a dream, birdie. You’ll never have to find out.”

She nodded, her nose rubbing over his collarbone momentarily before she went still again. “… you died. From shock, because I messed up the amputation.”

Ah. He had wondered how she felt about that. Sometimes he caught her studying the place where his arm should be, gaze distant and face blank.

“I doubt anyone but an actual doctor could have done better,” Ezra said reassuringly. “Again, your father was not my favorite person, but I’m awfully grateful that he dragged you to a job where you picked up your skills with a cutter.”

Cee’s hand slid across his chest and stopped at the point of his right shoulder, lightly resting there for a moment. She very gently tapped the joint, well away from the stump, yet it reverberated all the way through him.

“I still cut your arm off,” Cee said, in a voice that was half wonder, half disgust.

“I’d rather be here, holding you with one arm, then dead and rotting in the Green,” Ezra said bluntly.

Cee hummed a few nonsense notes, fingers playing with Ezra’s collar. Then she sucked in a breath and froze. “Ezra… is this… you’re not my dad. Are you… if we stick together… am I going to have to slap your hand away later?”

Her voice had a teasing lilt, but underneath that was a thread of wariness, of fear. Ezra felt his stomach roil at the implication of her query and he internally cursed ever chasing after the Sater on that toxic moon. Slowly withdrawing his hand, Ezra did his best to sink into his own skin and away from any point of contact with Cee.

“I heartily apologize if I have ever given you that impression. I am a lot of things, Cee, but I would never…”

Cee abruptly upwards, only to turn and dive back down across his chest. She wound her arms around his neck and pressed her face into the junction of his shoulder. “No! No, I… I’m sorry, I never should have asked that. I didn’t really think…”

“You did,” Ezra said sadly. “For a moment you did, but its ok. You should always question everything, from every angle. Makes for good survival instincts, which I knew you had anyway. It was the first thing that impressed me about you.”

“I just… I don’t know what we are. To each other… you know? You’re not my dad. You’ll never be my dad. But…”

Ezra slowly nodded, staring up at the ceiling as he thought about it.

“… to be frank, I’m not quite sure what we are either. But some things don’t have to be named. They just are. You can keep thinking of us as partners if you’d like. That’s as good of a title as any,” Ezra said. “And at any time, you’re allowed to dissolve that partnership if it no longer suits you.”

Cee nodded wordlessly and buried her face further against him. The action transferred a noticeable amount of moisture to his skin and he gently patted Cee’s back. “Birdie… I like ya, girl, but if you’re rubbing snot all over me…”

The words had the desired effect and she giggled, slowly drawing back. She pushed herself up to a seated position, wiping repeatedly at her face. It was still in shadow, but Ezra could see that the set of her shoulders were loose, and he suddenly felt inexplicably proud of this little slip of a girl. Her frail appearance hid an inner core of steel, one which never seemed to break. She was stronger than anyone he had ever known.

“I’m going to go wash my face,” Cee said shyly. “Do you need anything while I’m up?”

“I’m good, birdie. Just bring your blanket with you when you come back over so you don’t get cold later,” Ezra instructed.

Cee paused for a moment, head turned towards him in what he thought might be surprise. “When I come back?”

“’Course. I’m not gonna let my partner face the realm of nightmares alone,” Ezra replied easily.

Was inviting her to lay back at his side inappropriate? Kevva only knew. But tonight at least, he felt the need to be in contact so he could immediately wake her if she started dreaming badly again.

“Ok.”

Cee scampered off to the washroom while Ezra idly plucked at the wet spot on his scrubtop, rucking it up. He wasn’t sure she’d fall asleep again, or even atop him, but he could make sure she was comfortable if she did. As he listened to the sounds of running water in the sink, that lingering ache in his chest that had taken up root because of Cee grew. Except this time, a pervasive, soothing warmth accompanied it.

With barely a sigh, he gave in to it.

Partners… family… their relationship didn’t have a name and maybe it never would, but Ezra knew it was here to stay. And that suited him just fine. 

~ End

**Author's Note:**

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